LONDON, Ky. - When Union College women's soccer coach Camila Mendes saw South Laurel's Kayse Cornett play, she saw something in her that made her want to sign the Lady Cardinal stopper.

Herself.

"She plays the same position I did when I played pro soccer," Mendes said. "She's real aggressive, keeps her head up and reads the game well."

Ever since Cornett started playing soccer at the Optimist level, she's dreamed of getting the chance to play in college. Tuesday morning, that dream came true.

"I'm excited about this," Cornett said. "It's a dream come true." Cornett said she chose Union for several reasons. It was close to home. The campus was pretty. She knows a lot of people that goes to Union.

And one thing that goes back to when she was really young.

"When I was little, we drove by the campus, and I said that I would be out there playing soccer one day," Cornett said.

Cornett knows she will have to improve to succeed at the college level, especially in her fitness.

"I need to keep in shape," Cornett said. Her high school coach, Todd White, agreed.

"Kayse has always had a hard time keeping physically fit," White said. "But I think she will do well (at Union). She's an extremely hard worker, and she excels in the classroom. She's a student first, athlete second. That speaks volumes for her. She'll succeed in whatever she does in life."

Another thing Cornett will have to get used to, besides the speed of the college game, is being without her twin sister, Kayla, who is going to Eastern Kentucky University.

"It'll be strange," Cornett said. "Very strange. She's always been there. But I don't think it will be that bad."

While she might be without her twin sister, she might have some company on the team in the form of two of her South Laurel teammates.

"I hope to be able to sign Jessie Perkins and Kelsey Jones," Mendes said. "While it's hard to step up from high school to college, I think Kayse will be able to do so."